20th Asian Games begin today; 135 athletes representing Nepal

KATHMANDU:- The 20th Asian Games officially begins in Japan today. The tournament is scheduled to take place in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City and run until October 4.     

The opening ceremony is set for today at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, commencing at 6:00 PM local time. However, some events of the competition have already begun prior to the opening ceremony.

A total of 135 athletes from Nepal are competing across 21 sports disciplines in this edition of the Asian Games. Ramcharitra Mehta, Member-Secretary of the National Sports Council (NSC), stated that the Nepali contingent comprises 57 female and 78 male athletes. The total delegation numbers 211 including coaches, managers, technical staff, and medical representatives alongside the athletes.

In the 2023 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, 253 athletes from Nepal had participated. According to Member-Secretary Mehta, the largest contingent from Nepal will compete in Kabaddi, with 24 athletes. This is followed by Cricket (15), Volleyball (12), Wushu (10), Karate (8), and Boxing (7).

Additionally, six athletes each will represent Nepal in Athletics, Judo, Table Tennis, and Wrestling, while five athletes each will compete in Swimming and Tennis. He informed RSS that four athletes each will compete in badminton, golf, and soft tennis; three in taekwondo; and two each in archery, cycling, rafting and canoeing, skating and skateboarding, and squash.

Boxer Chandra Bahadur Thapa Magar and kabaddi player Manamati Bista will be flag bearers for the Nepali team at the opening ceremony. Thapa Magar won a bronze medal at the World Boxing Championship held in Dubai last year, while the Nepali women’s kabaddi team, captained by Bista, won a bronze medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games feature 43 sports, with athletes from 45 countries and regions, along with a refugee team, competing in the tournament.(RSS)